Life in the Rust Belt

T Bone Burnett on How He Chooses Music For "True Detective" | Mother Jones:

"I recently took a drive through the middle of the country, and I was stunned by what I saw. In places that had once had purpose, all that's left is a pawnshop, next to a gun shop, next door to a motel, next door to a gas station, with a Walmart right outside of town. "

This is a pretty good picture of eastern Indiana but you'd really need to add a few things to get the real picture. First, I'd add the most common small businesses, tattoo parlors, liquor stores and churches to list so the line becomes.....

.....all that's left is a pawnshop, next to a gun shop, next door to a motel, next door to a gas station, next door to a tattoo parlor, next door to a liquor store, next door to a church, with a Walmart and a couple of corporate restaurants right outside of town.

And to complete the picture, we'll need to add something about the homes of the landscape.

"Neighborhoods are filled with ageing rental houses, butchered with cheap plastic siding over wrong-sized replacement windows covered by Confederate and US flag curtains. A good smattering of blue-tarp repaired roofs show the general state of disrepair. The muddy yards are filled with vicious dogs chained or in chicken-wire cages, plastic-blow-up statues celebrating the last holiday, and a dotted with "Jesus loves you", "Alarm system by Smith and Wesson" or "For Sale" signs. 

Now that's a realistic picture of small town, Eastern Indiana.

It ain't pretty.

update.... I bet a lot of the kids growing up in those houses have names like  Ruger, Colt, Remington, and Gauge [Link]

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